Cristin McCarthy Vahey

Dear Neighbor,

With Election Day behind us and Veterans’ Day approaching, I would like to thank all who choose to serve our community as elected leaders, volunteers, and members of the military. Congratulations to all candidates on the ballot. Whether you achieved an electoral victory or not, I applaud your willingness to step up and serve. And thank you to our Veterans for helping to provide the framework of freedom that gives us access to the ballot box, or new tabulator machines as the case may be.

Next week, the legislature will convene in a special session called by the Governor. The agenda includes addressing federal funding shortfalls for basic needs and making changes to HB 5002, the housing bill vetoed by the Governor in the spring. I will share more details and information about the special session in a separate e-mail at the beginning of next week.

Food and hunger are a source of stress and anxiety for the 15,000-20,000 people in Bridgeport and Fairfield who rely on SNAP benefits to help feed their families and now have no access to those benefits due to the government shutdown. Others will see their opportunity for benefits disappear under new HR-1 requirements. Service providers as well as local and state government leaders are left scrambling to fill the gaps in the midst of uncertainty and constantly changing information.

While some interim steps have been taken by the Governor, and local food pantries and providers work to find additional resources, the access to federal SNAP benefits remains the most substantial and important foundation to feeding families who need that extra assistance.

In the meantime, there are multiple efforts underway to help make sure that as many gaps as possible can be filled. Here are a few ways you can help, if you are able, or access resources if you are in need:

• Donate to Operation Hope, Fairfield or Thomas Merton Center, Bridgeport
• Donate gift cards to Fairfield Social Services. Gift cards can be dropped at the Bigelow Senior Center, 100 Mona Terrace
• Donate to Rep. Jenn Leeper and Rep. Jaime Foster's partnership with the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut to provide emergency grocery assistance
• Go to uwc.211ct.org/categorysearch/food or www.ctfoodshare.org/find-help to see where you can access food

Over the past weeks, some of the community and legislative events I have attended include:

• Celebrating the naming of the David Campbell Bigelow Memorial Bridge just outside the Bigelow HQ
• A ribbon cutting for a new M&T Bank branch on the East side of Bridgeport, ending a years-long banking desert
• Joining direct service providers and KenCrest for a legislative listening session to learn about their challenges
• Attending an announcement of a collaboration between LifeBridge and Pediatric Healthcare Associates to bring Life Bridge clinicians on site to PHA’s offices, allowing better access to mental healthcare for children and families
• Attending the annual Fairfield Kiwanis Field of Valor commemoration
• Participating in a press conference to raise awareness about the increasing pressures on families and service providers in the face of lost SNAP benefits
• Joined the Comptroller for a Manufacturing roundtable discussion. Concerns about lack of housing were expressed by business owners

These events, along with regular meetings and conversation with constituents on a range of issues help me to have a sense of where constituents, businesses, non-profits, and community leaders have their focus and concern.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend. As always, please feel free to reach out directly with your ideas, questions, or concerns. You can reach me by phone at (860) 240-8585 or (203) 522-3037.

Take care,

Cristin McCarthy Vahey